The present invention relates to ladders and, more particularly, to protective caps that secure over the ends of the rails of a ladder to protect the surface upon which the ladder leans when in use.
Ladders have been used for decades by homeowners and commercial entities. Without a doubt, ladders provide great utility to those that use them. In decades past, most ladders were made of wood, but that has changed. Most ladders today are made of aluminum or fiberglass. Aluminum or fiberglass is desirable because the materials are lightweight and durable. Nonetheless, the rails that form the sides of the ladder have a tendency to cause damage to the surface upon which they are leaning. Further, hard plastic end pieces are often times used to protect the ends of the rails and are prone to damage the surface upon which they rest. It is not uncommon for the ladders to leave scratches and marks on, for example, vinyl siding.
Industry recognized this problem and, for a number of years, has offered protective caps that fit over the ends of the ladder rails. The caps are typically made from a pliable plastic. The caps serve to protect the surface upon which the ladder leans.
A problem, however, not addressed by the prior art is that ladder rails are not all sized the same. Thus, a protective cap designed to fit on one ladder rail will not fit on all ladder rails. If a user attempts to place a protective cap that is larger than the ladder rail cross-section, the cap will not fit securely on the ladder and can easily fall off the ladder rail. If a user attempts to place a protective cap on the ladder rail that is too small, it may not fit at all, or, if forced over the ladder rail, it may split after some time or during use. Further, the user often times does not know the size of the ladder rail. It is therefore much easier to buy a product that is adapted to fit over a broader range of varying sized side rails
This invention is directed to a protective ladder cap for fitting over the end of a rail of a ladder. The cap has an open end for fitting over the rail and a closed end. The cap has at least one elongated internal rib that tapers from a lower rib height closer to the open end than the closed end to a higher rib height closer to the closed end than the open end. In the preferred embodiment, the cap includes a plurality of internal ribs. The internal ribs also preferably comprise an indent portion adjacent the closed end of the rail to secure the cap on the ladder rail.
In the preferred embodiment, the protective ladder cap has two wide internal faces and two narrow internal faces. The internal ribs are on at least one of the wide internal faces, and preferably both. In an even more preferred embodiment, the internal ribs are on the narrow faces as well.
Because the internal ribs taper from a lower height to a higher height, the ladder cap is adapted to receive ladder rails of varying cross-section. Further, the tapered ribs ensure that the ladder cap is secured to the ladder, thus minimizing the ability of the ladder cap to fall off of the ladder rail. Because the ladder cap of the present invention is able to securely fit on ladder rails having varying cross-sections, consumers purchasing ladder caps are not required to know the cross-section size of their ladder rails. Thus, the ladder cap of the present invention also makes it much easier for consumers to purchase a ladder cap that fits snugly on the consumer""s ladder.
These and other aspects of the invention are described more fully below.